Soul Psychiatrist
by TemperanceNova
Summary: Old habits are hard to break. Some more than others. She had promised herself not to make the same mistake twice, but some things never change. Especially when all she ever really did to fix her problem...was run. SteinxOC RE-UPLOADED!
1. Alterations

"So, you obviously came here to discuss a problem…"

The Doctor shifted in her lush leather chair, trying to switch her crossed legs to be more comfortable, smoothing out her knee length tan skirt she had ironed so meticulously that morning. It was very important to make a good first impression and she wanted to be as professional as possible. Even if the red head across from her didn't seem to be entirely focused.

"Yes, it's a very serious problem after all," he stated peering at her.

"I see. Have you tried discussing it with anyone before now?"

"Not that I can think of. You seemed to be the best chance I have."

"And you want to try and resolve this problem?"

"Of course!"

Nodding she straightened the glasses on her face, pushing back her short black bangs so that she could see him clearly. She had only just arrived that morning and he was the first person to walk into her office. At first she wasn't sure that he was taking her seriously, but now it was more than obvious that he had a sever problem with physical attachment.

"Then how about you let go of my leg and we actually _talk_ about the problem then?" she sighed trying to keep her voice calm.

The second that he'd seen her he came flying across her office clutching onto her calf demanding that she "heal" him. How she was suppose to do that with him clinging to her like that? At the very least her skirt was long enough to where he couldn't chance a glance at her underwear. She knew the man by name, they had gone to school together. But their years of separation hadn't changed him in the slightest. Death-Scythe, who had once been Spirit Albarn hadn't changed a bit.

"Spirit, honestly, you can't come in here like this and expect me to actually take you seriously. You're a Death-Scythe now you should at least attempt to act professional," she sighed prying his hands away from her calf.

"Yeah, I know. I just couldn't help myself, you grew into quite a beautiful woman, Jen."

Before he had the chance to grab onto her again she stood up to straighten out her desk, she still hadn't finished unpacking completely.

"Didn't you get married and have a daughter, Spirit? Should you be touching other women like that?" she asked absently fiddling with her glass nameplate. Doctor Jennette Reins, the title she had worked so hard to achieve.

When Spirit didn't answer her she turned to see what he was doing, afraid that he might be planning to latch onto her again, but what she was faced with was far more disturbing than his hands on her. His entire face had gone pale, tears welling up in the corner of his turquoise eyes.

"S-Spirit? What's wrong?" she gasped taking a small step closer to him.

"We got divorced! And now Maka hates me!" he wailed suddenly causing her to jump.

"Now calm down. It's not the end of the world. Stop crying, it's not going to get you anywhere."

"I'm sorry…"

She reached behind her blindly grasping for her box of tissues. He took a few moments to compose himself, blowing his nose twice before he was finally calm again. She had half a mind to kick him out of her office, afraid that any questions about his life in the time she had been away would set him off into another fit of tears. But they had once been friends, she couldn't just force him out.

"Now, what is the _real_ reason you came to my office Spirit? Did Lord Death send you down here?" she asked calmly, trying to keep him focused.

"Yeah. I'm suppose to take you around to all of the classes and introduce you to the students. He just wants everyone to understand what you're here for."

"All right then, classes have already started haven't they? What class are we going to visit first?"

To avoid being awkward she went back to straightening her desk, making sure that her framed diploma was easily visible from every point in her small office. It wasn't that she was trying to brag, she just wanted to make sure everyone knew that she was qualified and capable to do the job.

"Oh! You'll never guess who teaches the first class we're going to! I forget you've been away for over ten years…" he chuckled.

"Really? Who could it possibly be that would shock me? Sid? I heard that he was teaching here."

"Yeah he's a teacher here all right, but that's not the first class we're going to. You _do_ remember Franken Stein, right?"

Her hand jerked forward hitting the corner of her diploma causing it to crash over onto her desk, the glass cracking just slightly in the top corner of the frame. Franken Stein. It wasn't possible! Lord Death hadn't mentioned Stein even in passing during their conversations to arrange her job at the Academy. He had deliberately withheld the information from her. For a moment she wanted to panic. To run form the room and never look back, then she remembered that she had promised herself that she wasn't going to abandon her job. She had made a pact with Lord Death to help the students of his Academy and she would not abandon her patients, Stein be damned.

"Really? That's good for him. It's nice to hear that he's doing well for himself. I should have expected no less from the Academy's genius Meister," she said sweetly, refusing to let Spirit see how worked up she had gotten.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. He's changed a bit."

"How so?"

"He's a giant now. Now that I think about it, have you gotten taller as well? I remember you use to be shorter than me too."

She turned around to see exactly what he was referring to and indeed she was at least an inch taller than he was. He stood there with his eyes narrowed at her as if the fact that the people he had once towered over were now taller than he was. Then she remembered it was probably just the heels she was wearing.

"It's just the shoes, Spirit. I haven't really grown any taller since I left. But wasn't Stein taller than you when we graduated?"

"Well yeah, he was. But now he's really tall. Among other things…"

He pulled open the door of her office waving his hand for her to go ahead of him. She hoped that he couldn't see her moment of hesitation as she moved out into the hallway. That was all she needed was for Spirit to see she was afraid of seeing Stein again.

"So, are you anxious about seeing him again?" he asked walking beside her with his hands tucked into his pockets.

"What? No. Why would I be?"

There was no hiding how her eyes shifted to the floor quickly, her hands twisting together as she tried to think about anything other than Stein.

"_Like hell, you know damn well that's all you're going to be able to think about the entire time you're here…"_

She nearly cursed herself out loud for even thinking it before she remembered that Spirit was right there next to her, still waiting for an answer. The longer she took to come up with an answer the more suspicious he would get.

"Well it has been a very long time. I suppose you could say I am a little nervous. I was nervous just coming back to the Academy period. I'm sure that Stein probably wont even remember me. My hair is shorter now and I have glasses."

"Yeah, you're probably right. He didn't really notice anyone back then either. What are you going to do if he doesn't recognize you?"

"Just introduce myself and go on with my day. I came here to do a serious job Spirit, not catch up with old school mates."

"Yeah I guess you can just go about it that way. But when you see him don't freak out or anything, he sort of has a few scars now. And-"

"It's all right Spirit. I don't need you to explain him to me, its not the big of a deal. He's just Stein."

"If you say so…"

He stopped in front of one of the classroom doors, knocking once before he pulled it open and stepped inside.

"Sorry to interrupt Stein, but I have someone I need to introduce to your class," she heard Sprit announce, a soft mumble following his voice that she couldn't place before Spirit's head poked back out into the hallway nodding for her to follow him in.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes stepping into the classroom behind Spirit.

"_You can do this, this is your job. This is what you went to school to do. Don't let him get to you anymore…"_

The second she peeled her hazel eyes open, blinking to adjust to the influx of light in the bright classroom, all rational thought went out the window. He was closer than she thought he would be, standing just in front of Spirit. Just like the Death-Scythe had said Stein towered over them now, his silver hair still as strange as it had always been, yet somehow it was part of his allure. Those pale green eyes gazing at her curiously behind his glasses, since when did he wear glasses? There was, as Spirit had mention, a long scar along his face that seemed to start somewhere in the middle of his forehead running under his left eye before it vanished behind his ear. And by far the most startling thing about him was the huge metal bolt that was shoved through the left side of his head protruding out the other side as if it were meant to be turned. She had to remember not to let the distress show on her face, she had to remain clam.

"Stein this is-"

Spirit began with the normal formalities of introductions but she found herself butting in to avoid him saying her entire name. As it stood, Stein didn't seem to realize who she was and she was perfectly fine leaving it that way.

"Doctor Reins, it's a pleasure to meet you Professor Stein," she said with a warm smile extending her hand to his just to appear as pleasant as possible.

"_What the hell is wrong with him? Is that a _real _bolt in his head? What has been happening while I've been gone!"_

The second his hand closed around hers it was like someone had smacked her in the chest with a ton of bricks, the distress in his soul wavelength was almost unbearable and she found herself actually gripping him a little tighter than needed just to stay on her own two feet. Something was wrong, something that Lord Death had also failed to mention…

"Anyway," she coughed jerking her hand back away from him a little more roughly than she had meant to, "Lord Death has asked me here for the students, so if it wouldn't be a problem I would like to take a moment to speak to them."

"Of course, the floor is all yours, Doctor," Stein said plainly, seemingly unaware of her strange behavior.

Without even breaking stride she moved to the front of the classroom in front of his desk, then entire classroom staring back at her curious to know who she was. She was trying hard enough just to keep her head from spinning, feeling like Stein was somehow breathing down her neck. The residual feeling of his soul was still eating away at her.

"Good morning class. I realize that this is out of the ordinary for you so I'll be quick. Lord Death has asked me to come to the Academy to act a grief counselor for anyone that may need to talk about any issues that they're having with all the recent Kishin reawakening. Everything is entirely confidential, even if you stop in just to say hello, so don't hesitate to pop in whenever you feel like it. Thank you for your time, Professor Stein."

She turned bowing her head to him slightly before she started off out of the class room. Just standing there in the same room with her made her sick to her stomach. There was no way she was going to make it through this, she _had_ to talk to Lord Death immediately.


	2. In Love

"Are you even listening to a word that I am saying?" she snapped stomping her foot on the floor.

The figure before her sat diligently at the short wooden table shaped very much like the white mask he was wearing over his face. There was no doubt that Lord Death was a strange being, his high pitched voice and large hands. His unusual fascination with tea. In fact she was on her third cup, he kept insisting that she drink tea with him if they were going to talk.

"Of course I am, more tea?" he asked holding her now full cup back out to her.

"Thank you," she sighed unable to be impolite. "Why didn't you tell me that Stein was teaching here? You knew that I would have had an issue with that."

"Yes, about that-"

"And not to mention that he is far worse than he was when I left! His soul wavelength is completely sporadic! He is _insane_ Lord Death, mentally unfit, psychotic! He teaches children how to dissect animals! I mean we always knew that he was a little off, but this is totally out of hand!"

She was pacing again, towering over him and his tea table as she sipped her tea in between sentences. As soon as she was finished with her fourth cup she sat it back down and he immediately went to refill it.

"Right, well the Kishin-"

"You didn't tell me he was here, or that he was this ill in the first place! I would have never come if you had just told me how bad it _really_ was! You didn't ask me here for the children at all, did you? You asked me here because of Stein!"

When he didn't try to answer her she just stood there gawking down at him as he calmly motioned at the cushion across from him at the table. She was out of breath now, collapsing onto the purple cushion as he pushed her cup back toward her.

"Are you certain you would have denied me? If I had contacted you and said that Stein was ill and that he needed your help, would you have ignored that?"

"I…"

That was a little more difficult to answer than she thought it would have been. She had swore to herself years ago that she would never be near him again. Things hadn't ended well with him before, it was part of the reason she had left Death City after they graduated.

"If he needed my help, really needed me, I would have come running," she sighed hanging her head in defeat.

"That is what I thought. I tried to at least preserve some of your dignity when I asked you here. And there may very well be students that can use your help. Stein will never ask you for help, you and I both know that. But in the off chance that he may, you will be here to help him."

"How did it get this bad? Stein and Spirit worked well together, Spirit was really good at keeping Stein under control…"

"Stein lent Death-Scythe to Kami, she is the one who made him into a Death-Scythe."

"Spirit's ex-wife is Kami?"

Lord Death nodded thoughtfully sipping on his own cup of tea as she nearly downed hers. There was no way she could have asked Spirit that, he was obviously distraught about the entire situation.

"Well, that really had nothing to do with the recent developments in Stein's madness. It's the Kishin's reawakening that is taking a toll on his mind, Jennette. The madness wavelength that the Kishin emits is amplifying the madness that was already buried within Stein. He's aware of the problem and to his credit he is working very hard to keep himself under control. But with your wavelength, Jennette, I was hoping that if you could get close to him you might be able to help him."

"Get close to him? Close? To Stein?"

"I know that it sounds impossible, but if there is anyone that can do it, it's a dedicated Doctor like you. I have complete faith in your abilities."

He gave her a thumbs up, the eyes of his mask turning into little half moons as if to suggest that he were smiling at her. All of the energy she had a moment before was gone, the five cups of tea finally weighing on her bladder. She hadn't felt this emotionally drained since the last time she had spoken to Stein right before their graduation.

"I have to go to the bathroom…" she mumbled standing up from the table, shuffling out of the Death Room slowly, dragging her feet with every step that she took.

"_You said that you wanted to say something to him!" Spirit sighed shoving her down the hallway._

"_Wait! No! Spirit, really I don't-" she protested hugging a thick book against her chest as she tried to dig her heels into the tile floor to stop her advance toward the tall silver haired boy in her class._

"_Come on, it's now or never right? We're graduating in a few weeks, I'm sure that he will be flattered!"_

_The red head was physically stronger than she was just because he was a boy and her complete shock at what was happening left her limbs unresponsive and useless as he skidded her to a halt next to the silver haired boy who was busy checking the mission board for something to pass the time. Stein was always like that, quiet and contemplative, doing work just to avoid boredom. When he was bored his mind tended to wandered toward dismembering animals…_

"_Hey, Stein, Jen has something that she needs to tell you," Spirit nearly shouted attracting the attention of everyone in the hallway around them._

_As Stein turned to stare at her out of the corner of his pale green eyes she wished that she could just die right there. To vanish, disintegrate, _anything_ would have been better than what was happening. She had to say something to get herself out of this situation and the only weapon she had was the physics book clutched against her chest._

"_I um, there was this book, I thought I would show you-" she rambled tripping over her words unable to meet his gaze, her legs shaking._

"_What? No that wasn't it! Look Stein, Jen here is in love with you," Sprit laughed clapping his hands on her shoulders as if to push her even closer to his Meister._

_She could feel all of the blood instantly rush out of her face, her heart crashing against her ribs before it seemed to stop entirely, anticipating his reaction. She could see out of the corner of her vision as he turned his whole body toward her, his eyebrows pressed together as if he was trying to understand exactly what the words Spirit had said meant. She could feel her cheeks burning red as all of the other students in the hallway stared over at them, waiting to hear Stein's response just as much as she was._

"_Ok…" he said calmly, his voice as low and smooth as always without a hint of emotion._

_And to her complete and utter horror he just turned on his heel and walked away. For a moment she stared after him, snickers rising up from all around them. Spirit had made a complete fool of her! If she was going to be rejected she at least wanted to be in private when it happened._

"_Damn, I was sure that would have gone better. Sorry Jen, I guess he's just not use to that sort of thing…" Spirit huffed, stepping past her to chase after his Meister. "Stein, wait up!"_

_Without Spirit there to support her anymore, she literally collapsed to her knees in the middle of the hall, still clutching onto her book, refusing to cry. Even if he couldn't see her, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of making her cry…until she got home._

Half immersed in her own terrible memories, she pushed the faculty bathroom door open, not even bothering to look at the figure who was standing at the sink before she locked herself in the nearest stall to take care of her business. It had taken her so long to come to terms with that day. Stein wasn't an emotional person, he wasn't looking for romance, all he cared about was his desire to dissect things. She had to keep telling herself that it wasn't her, he just wasn't the relationship type. She wasn't the problem, he was. Making sure that her blouse was properly tucked into her skirt, every edge smooth and perfect she unlocked the door stepping back out into the bathroom approaching the sinks to wash her hands. The figure was still standing there, but she was still to preoccupied to care to see who it was.

"Hello," she muttered wetting her hands before she reached for the soap dispenser.

"Hello Doctor Reins."

It took her a moment to place the voice. Deep and calm, like velvet, she had to be imagining it. Her head snapped up to look at the person beside her, Stein towering over her with one eyebrow raised as if he were confused by her presence.

"What are you doing in here?" she shrieked jumping back from him, her heart slamming into her ribs.

"I was just about to ask you the same question, but I suppose it's really not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal, this is the women's restroom!"

"Actually, it's the men's room. But like I said, it's really not that big of a deal. I don't think there are many men who would care to have a woman barge in on them. Women are usually the ones that have an issue with that sort of thing."

Her jerked his thumb toward the far wall, indicating to the row or urinals lined up past the stalls. She had been so spaced out she walked right into the wrong bathroom! And to add insult to injury, Stein had just heard her pee!

"Oh my god, oh no… I can't believe I just-and you-so gross…" she gasped backing away from him slowly toward the door.

"First day a little too stressful, Doctor?" he chuckled as if it really wasn't that big of an issue.

"I can't believe this!" she wailed turning to bolt out of the bathroom.

"_Way to go, you've succeeded in humiliating yourself in front of your old crush your first day on the job. What a first impression…"_

This was the exact reason she wanted to avoid him at all costs. Knowing that when it came to Stein her brain just didn't function properly. Now she looked like a complete idiot! As far as he was probably concerned, she _was_ just an idiot. And even if she had wanted to escape she knew that she couldn't. Lord Death was right, now that she knew Stein was ill she couldn't walk away without trying everything in her power to help him. Assuming of course that she could redeem herself enough to even show her face in front of him again. The only safe haven that she has was her office, locking herself inside. She would find a way to deal with him later, for now she just needed to be alone to calm herself down.

"_There is absolutely no way in hell you are going to be able to do this…"_


	3. Like Mother, Like Daughter

So far so good. She had managed to infiltrate the school early in the morning without so much as a whiff of Stein's soul around. She might as well have put on a ski mask and hid in the shadows as much as she was trying sneaking around. Sliding around every corner with expert ease and precision. She was as good as home…

"Good morning, Doctor Reins. Are you attempting to avoid someone?"

Her heart leapt up into her throat as she pressed her back against what she assumed was the wall. However the wall moved with her, contouring to her back for a moment before it moved away from her, causing her to spin around. She was face to face with a two tone gray sweater, stitches seemingly the only thing that was holding it together, that white lab coat familiar and sickening. Her eyes glanced up to see Stein staring down at her with a small smile, obviously she was now a source of amusement for him.

"Professor! Good morning. I was just…checking the halls…" she gasped, her hand over her heart trying to calm it down before it broke out of her chest.

"For?"

"Well, you never know. Can never be to safe, after all. I should get to my office, I'm sure I'll see you later."

"Yes, I am sure that you will, Doctor."

She didn't think it was at all possible for her to run backwards, let alone in heels, but she moved as quickly as they allowed her back away form Stein and down the hall toward her office. She was so focused on sneaking around that she had completely stopped searching for his soul.

"_Get a hold of yourself, we will not have another incident like yesterday in the bathroom!"_

With her office officially set up she dove right into the student files that Lord Death had Spirit bring her, the few that he thought would no doubt pay her a visit. There was one the struck her as slightly more disturbing than the rest, that of a Weapon that was injured on assignment, something she read glancing through about black blood? Stein had been the boys attending physician. Flipping back to the front page of the file again she was about to start reading it over again when a light knock echoed through the room form the door.

"Come in," she called closing the file before she tucked the stack into her drawer.

To her immediate relief two students stepped into her office, a boy and a girl. The girl looked stern, ashen blond pigtails and determined emerald eyes. The boy seemed much more relaxed, hands crammed into his pockets, a headband over his stark white hair, his red eyes glancing around the office.

"Good morning students. Come on in and have a seat. How may I help you two?" she said with a bright smile gesturing to the leather seats in front of her desk.

"Good morning, Doctor Reins, we just came to introduce ourselves. I am Scythe Meister Maka Albarn and this is my partner, Soul Eater," the girl introduced herself so formally, even bowing slightly.

The second the name was out of her mouth she knew exactly who she was without even connecting her looks to her father or mother. The boys name also struck a chord, but at the moment all she could think about was Spirit's statement that Maka hated him.

"Maka Albarn, yes I know of you. Spirit's daughter," Jennette breathed standing up from her desk to offer her hand to the children.

"I don't want to talk about that creep," she groaned shaking her hand just once before she collapsed into on the chairs followed by Soul.

"What would you like to talk about?"

"_Obviously has father issues…"_

"Actually we just wanted to say hello really. I think its great that you're here to help students who are having a hard time dealing with the Kishin revival."

"I see, well I appreciate your visit."

"I do have a small question however."

"And that is?"

Maka seemed withdrawn for a moment, twisting her white gloved hands together as if she found the question difficult.

"I just can't help but wonder, are you really here for the students or someone else?" she asked at length, causing Jen to slide back down into her seat.

"_She is perceptive isn't she? Just like her father…"_

"Of course I am here for the students, who else would I be here for?"

"Professor Stein."

There was no hiding the way she swallowed roughly, hating how this little girl saw right through her so easily.

"I have no idea what you're referring to. Is there something wrong with Professor Stein?" she gulped trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"You know my Papa's real name, which means you knew him before he was Death-Scythe. You had to know Professor Stein too. You're a Meister aren't you Doctor, you couldn't see his soul?"

"_Damn, just like her mother too? She's a little busy body isn't she?"_

"Yes, I could see it. But Maka, I assure you I was brought here for the students. If there is some way that I can help Professor Stein then I will try it by all means. But I doubt he needs my help, he is _very_ smart after all."

"Being smart has nothing to do with needing help with the illness of his soul…"

"That is absolutely true Maka. But you can't force someone to ask for help. He has to seek it on his own. I don't see him walking into my office asking for help any time soon. He knows where I am if wants to see me."

"Right. That's true. Well at any rate, we're happy to have you here. Our last Doctor turned out to be a witch, it's kind of reassuring to know you went to school with my Papa."

"And your mother too."

"You knew my Mama?"

Jennette nodded, loving the way Maka's eyes lit up at the very mention of her mother. Apparently she had favored her mother over her father through the divorce, no doubt for Spirit's womanizing ways.

"Anyway, classes are going to be starting soon. You can stop in later if you want to talk about things Maka. You as well Soul. Lord Death passed your medical file on to me just in case you stopped in. I have to admit I am a little interested to understand this issue with the black blood."

He shook his head standing up with Maka almost in unison. Apparently he was just there because his Meister was, nothing about her office held any kind of interest for him at all Even though she was sure he probably needed to talk about things, he didn't seem the type to really share.

"Nah I'm cool. If you're interested about it, read the file. There's really not much more to tell than that. I just tagged along with Maka," he chuckled waving one hand at her before he tucked it back into his pocket, shuffling out of the room after Maka.

She had only been in the school for two days and it was already obvious to students that Lord Death had brought her in for reasons other than to counsel them. How obvious was it to Stein that she was there for him? The fact that she was acting so strangely around him didn't help matters at all. She was seriously going to have to find a way to cope with his presence.

"_And the only way you're going to accomplish that is by ripping out your own heart and letting him have it to dissect, so you can't feel anything for him anymore…"_

"I am afraid that I don't love boys…"

It was a very blunt statement, right to the point and a common issue. The young girl that say across from Jennette kept her eyes on anything other than the Doctor herself as if she was truly ashamed of this fact. Her name was Emily, a student that wasn't in the class she had introduced herself to the day before, but at least word was getting around.

"You're afraid? Is it that you find yourself more attracted to girls than boys? Or just that you dislike boys in general?" Jennette asked seriously. This was an easy issue, something normal that she could handle.

"That's just it, I'm not sure. I mean there are boys in my class that I find attractive sure. But I can't stand talking to any of them for more than five minutes to know whether or not I could like them or not."

"I see. You're irritated with them because of the things that they do? Its perfectly natural for you to find boys more annoying than girls at this stage in your life. Boys are very immature."

"I suppose that's true…"

"At any rate, I don't believe that it's something that you need to be _afraid_ of, Emily. Love is not something that can be defined in terms of sex. Its not boys or girls that you will fall in love with, it's a _person_. Their soul, their personality. Those are the only things that you need to worry about, not whether they're male or female."

"But what about the other students? What if they make fun of me if I fall in love with a girl?"

"Then they're not people that you need to associate yourself with. If you love someone, you love them, there is no way around that. Just because you wake up one day and tell yourself that you love chocolate and hate vanilla when you really love vanilla, it doesn't mean that you love chocolate. You will always love vanilla no matter how hard you try to tell yourself that you don't. If you love a girl, then you love her, if you love a boy, then you love him. That's just how love works. You don't choose it, it chooses you."

"I think I get it now. Thank you Doctor!"

"It's not a problem, feel free to come back and talk to me again if you ever have any more questions. Doesn't matter what it's about, all right?"

"Of course! I feel like you actually _listen_ to my problems unlike some of the other teachers…"

"It's what I'm here for."

With a firm handshake the girl bounded out of her office, leaving her alone with her thoughts of all the students she had seen that day. Six students had walked through her door, not counting Maka and Soul early that morning. Emily was scared that she might one day turn out to be a lesbian and the other five all shared a common and disturbing fear that Stein was somehow going to dissect them in their sleep. Out of hand was beginning to look like an understatement. As quickly as she could she gathered all the notes she had taken from all of her patients heading toward the Death Room to share her findings with Lord Death immediately.

"Tea?" he offered as soon as she stepped out from under the guillotines leading into the center of the room.

"Not today, I'm afraid. Bad experience yesterday. Can I have a moment of your time alone?" she asked nodding toward Spirit who was standing diligently by Lord Death's side as he should have been, sipping at a cup of tea very much like Lord Death himself.

"If it's something you need to tell me about Stein, Death-Scythe is already well aware of the issue and is in fact keep an eye on our deranged Meister."

"Very well. I have been in the school for a little less than two days and out of the _six_ students that I saw today, five of them were seriously afraid that Stein was planning to harvest some nonessential organ in their sleep."

"I see and the sixth student?"

"Afraid that they were going to grow into a homosexual. Hardly worth mentioning. Lord Death, I understand that Professor Stein is a brilliant man and no doubt a valuable asset to the Academy's curriculum, but it is my professional opinion after observing his soul and the reactions of the students that he not be permitted to teach."

The room was quiet, only the sound of her heart hammering in her ears breaking through. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, maybe for Lord Death to side with her or maybe even Spirit. They had been partners for years before he was lent to Kami, he knew just how bad Stein could be. She didn't think that Stein intentionally wanted to be a danger to anyone, but at the rate he was running now, he was their greatest danger within the school.

"I'm afraid that we can't just take away his position. As it stands he has not let things get out of hand. I would like for you to continue trying to get close to him and see if you can prove to be useful against his madness. It's only been two days Jennette. Give him a chance," Lord Death sighed.

"And if he hurts a student in the mean time?" she barked back, unable to hide the sheer panic she felt.

"_If he hurts a child, will it be my fault for not getting to him in time?"_

"Spirit is keeping a very close eye on his former Meister. Since they were partners, it is not unusual for them to see each other several times a day. Stein is probably aware that Spirit is there to keep an eye on him, but he doesn't seem to mind. His cooperation is a sign that he doesn't want to hurt anyone."

"It's harder than I imagined it would be. I can't just walk up to him and put my hands on him. He could kill me in the blink of an eye if he thinks I'm up to something. I won't use my soul wavelength without his permission."

"All we can do now is wait it out. You're the only one that can do this Jennette, just like I said before, I have complete faith in your abilities."

She hated that it was being left in her hands, but she couldn't abandon her mission. Stein needed her help and her heart was quick to betray her when it came to him. How could all that time apart still allow her to harbor such feelings for him? He was a sick, twisted man no matter what control he exerted to keep himself under control and yet she still stood there loving him like a fool. Stein, who would have never given her a second glance. Stein, who was so much more brilliant than her. Stein, who was so much stronger than she could ever be…why couldn't she just let him go?


	4. Photograph The Past

_ "It'll be easy, just walk right up to him and tell him. He will understand you're just trying to help."_

Of course it was easier thought than done. Stein was standing across the library, his nose buried in a book and she had the strangest sense of déjà vu. When they were in school, he was always in the library when he wasn't in class or on a mission with Spirit. She was sure that he had single handedly read every single book in the entire library, yet there he sat reading again. At the very least this was a side of him she was use to dealing with. Once he was interested in something it was nearly impossible to tear his complete attention away from it and there he was halfway leaned over the book, taking notes on a notebook next to him, she could spy on him freely from the shelves without him noticing easily. She had observed his behavior during class hours, now it was time to see what he did in his free time. She had tailed him from his classroom all the way to the library without a single hitch. For a moment she thought that it was too good to be true until he went straight for a stack of books on one of the back research tables and went right to work. It was so like Stein to work even after he was finished with work.

"Oh, hello Doctor Reins."

Jennette's attention was pulled away from Stein's figure to the soft voice in front of her. Maka Albarn with several heavy books in her arms. She didn't like taking her eyes off of Stein, but she very well couldn't ignore a student.

"Hello Maka, study material?" she asked sweetly, smiling down at the young Meister.

"This? No I just read these for fun."

"For fun? Where is that partner of yours?"

"Soul? He hates it in here so he waits for me out front of the Academy with Black*Star. He's another classmate."

"I should have guessed, he doesn't seem like the book type."

Maka chuckled lightly, shifting the books in her arms.

"No he's really not. What brings you in here Doctor? Didn't I see a lot of books in your office? I didn't think we had anything related to psychology in here," she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Oh no nothing like that. I'm just reacquainting myself with the schools layout. It's been a long time since I've been back here that I'm afraid I've forgotten where everything is."

"Well, if you'd like I can give you a tour?"

"Thank you, but that's quite all right Maka. You have friends and no doubt homework waiting for you. I'm just wandering here and there after all."

"All right then, I'll see you later then Doctor."

Jennette waved at her as she shuffled away with a soft chuckle. Reading books for fun, she could remember doing the exact same thing at her age, of course she really hadn't had many friends back then so there really wasn't much else to do. Deciding it was best not to dwell on the past she turned back to her present task of tailing Stein. Except that he was gone.

_ "Where the hell did he go?"_

She panicked for a moment, glancing all around the open area of the library to see where he had wandered off to. She was sure that he was going to be there for some time as thick as the book was, but she didn't take into account that he was most likely only searching for one thing in particular and once he found it he would be gone again.

"Shit," she sighed stepping back behind the shelf she had used to spy on him pulling off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Something the matter Doctor? Can't find a particular book?"

She should have been expecting it, anything that had to deal with him she should have known he would find some way to sneak up on her. But still she jerked away from the sound of his voice, his blurry figure right there next to her apparently putting away whatever book he had been searching through. Her glasses slipped from her hand, clinking as they hit the tile floor. Practically completely blind she took a step back from him just trying to avoid being too close until she heard the telltale crunch of glass under her heel.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that judging by your reaction, you don't need those just for reading?" he asked.

She knew that her entire face had gone pale. There she was in the middle of an empty library, blind, with Stein. It was too late now to take Maka up on her offer of a tour of the Academy.

"No I-I can't see without them," she wheezed trying to keep herself from hyperventilating.

"Do you have another pair somewhere?"

"In my office…"

There was a crack in her voice, she was on the verge of tears. Left to her own devices she had managed to almost completely humiliate herself in front of him, all she needed now was to add crying to the list and she would be set.

"Well we should get you to your office then before you fall down the stairs," he chuckled, still amused.

"No, it's all right, I can get there on my own Professor."

Before he could protest she knelt down, barley able to make out the black frame of her crushed glasses, focusing carefully on the shards of glinting glass. Years of neglecting that she needed glasses allowed her to manage somewhat, she could only pray it was enough to get her back to her office safely. Luckily she was able to gather the glass without cutting herself before she stood back up, slowly shuffling away from him. She managed to get about as far at the end of the bookshelf before she misjudged the distance, bumping into the corner hard enough to make her clench her hand shut around her shattered glasses slicing into her thumb. At the very least she managed to keep from crying out, correcting her position to get around the shelf before a strong hand closed around her wrist halting her.

"You're going to end up butchering that hand walking around with broken glass and bumping into everything along the way. It can't be helped, I'll have to see you back to your office," Stein sighed directing her around the bookshelf with ease.

There was no fighting him, his grip strong enough to scare her into silently obeying his lead. The hallway felt vast, even with Stein looming in the middle of it, allowing her to use her free hand to skim along that wall to help keep her balanced.

"It seems that you're a little misfortunate, Doctor. Two days in a row now?" he chuckled pushing her office door open slowly.

"I don't want to talk about it," she sighed, having difficulty keeping her teeth from chattering.

The mortifying sound of Stein rustling through her drawers made her heart skip a beat, there was a file on him in there somewhere and she couldn't remember for the life of her if she had put it away in the filing cabinet or not.

"They're in the top left drawer Professor," she muttered, using her leathers chairs as crutches to get closer to the desk.

"I have them here, sit down."

All she could manage was to slowly slide into one of the chairs in front of her desk as Stein's blurry figure towered over her, leaning back against her desk as if he were right at home. When she was first aware of his hand on her face she jerked back from him but he readjusted his grip on her chin turning her face up toward him.

"Sit still before you make me poke your eye out…" he demanded.

Her glasses slowly slid into her field of vision, instantly clearing her vision dramatically. Stein was closer than she liked for him to be, a small smile on his lips that made her both nervous and scared. There was a time when she had never seen him smile other than talk of dissections and it was now apparent that he was using these smiles as a false front to comfort people around him. She wasn't sure how to break it to him that it was having quite the opposite effect.

"There you are. All better?" he asked pulling his hand away from her face.

"Yes, thank you."

He pulled the broken glasses from her hand, removing each shard of broken glass with expert care. She should have struggled, asked him to leave, but everywhere that his fingers touched lingering just a little longer than necessary he left behind a warmth she didn't want to disappear.

"The frame isn't bent, you can have the lens replaced," he stated sitting the glass on her desk as he examined the frame.

"One bit of good news out of the day I suppose," she breathed, becoming increasingly aware of how hot her cheeks had grown.

With another fake smile he sat the frame down next to the glass, digging in his lab coat pocket, producing a band aid.

"For your thumb. Better luck next time, Doctor?" he asked dropping the band aid into her open hand.

"Yeah, hopefully…"

It wasn't until after he was gone that she realized that he may have just been talking about her having better luck stalking him, rather than better luck in general. It had never crossed her mind for a moment that he was playing with her. If he recognized her, surely he would say _something_, wouldn't he? They weren't children anymore, he wouldn't be that immature anymore. He'd never really struck her as the immature type back when they were in school. Spirit was always that kind of person, still was in a way. But not Stein… After affixing the band aid across the small cut on her thumb she circled around her desk to survey the damage he had done rummaging through her drawers. As far as she could tell there was nothing out of place despite the noise he had made. The file she had on him wasn't in the drawer she remembered putting it in early that morning and she instantly dove toward her filing cabinet in the corner sifting through the few files she had in there. With a sigh of relief she pulled out the manila folder with his name on it, dropping it on her desk before she moved to the door to lock it.

It was slightly sad to see how thin the file was, it was nothing more than the few notes she had taken on him in her two days at the Academy. She had a good feeling it would no doubt grow by the time she left, if she ever left. There were two sheets of paper inside, one with his name and the few facts that she knew about him. The second page was just a list of observations she had made. There was a small photo of him in his younger years paper clipped to the inside of the file, he wasn't even looking at the camera, hunched over a book in the library. She could remember taking the picture clearly…even if he didn't.

_ "Stein, just let her have one picture of you!" Spirit groaned trying to tug his Meister down the hall._

_ She had said that she wanted to make a photo album of all of her friends before they graduated. But when it came time to take Stein's picture she simply skipped over him. Not only was she still embarrassed by Spirit outing her in front of him, she didn't think he would want her to have a picture of him. Spirit of course wasn't about to let her walk out of the school without at least one picture of the strange young Meister, no matter how much she insisted she didn't want one._

_ "I don't understand why pictures are needed. They're not necessary to have a memory of a person…" Stein muttered allowing himself to be drug about, completely indifferent about the situation._

_ She had barely managed to duck down behind one of the trashcans in the hallway hiding herself from Spirit's watchful eyes. She didn't understand why he had to be so persistent about getting her to take a picture of Stein. Even if she really wanted one, she would never admit it out loud._

_ "Because it's just nice to have something to remember people by Stein. I doubt anyone would _ever_ be able to forget you, but for good measure, pictures help," Spirit demanded halting next to her trashcan._

_ Why couldn't he just leave well enough alone? Breathing quietly she prayed they would move on before Stein realized she was there, if he hadn't already. He was a far better Meister than she could ever be, there was no way she could fool him so easily._

_ "Where the hell did she go? She was just here…" Spirit sighed, glancing around for a moment before he started to drag Stein farther down the hall._

_ It was a narrow escape but she would take whatever she could get at that point. Only two students remained in the entire school. Spirit Albarn and Franken Stein. Sadly she couldn't find one without the other and she wasn't too keen on the idea of not taking a picture of Spirit just to avoid having to see Stein. There was only one chance she would catch them apart and that was right after classes were over when Stein would head for the library as usual and Spirit would linger in the halls chatting up any girl that would stand and pay attention to him long enough. Sadly his target today was her._

_ "There you are, Jen! Did you see Stein yet?" he asked tucking his hands into his pants pockets._

_ "Um, no. Spirit, all I need is your picture now if you could just stand still," she mumbled pulling the camera out of her bag._

_ "Yeah, sure thing."_

_ It was a relatively pain free endeavor, snapping Spirit's picture, she tucked the camera away again and turned to flee before he could stop her._

_ "Wait, wait! Stein is just in the library, I know you want his picture Jen," he snapped grabbing her by the wrist._

_ "Spirit, no! I don't want his picture."_

_ "Why not? You love him don't you?"_

_ "_Stop_ saying that! You've humiliated me enough already."_

_ "Look, he doesn't even have to know you have it, see? He's stuck in that book…"_

_ He drug her behind one of the tall bookshelves, pointed across the library at Stein who was nose deep in a thick book. It was a little more than evident that he was completely oblivious to everything around him, his eyes scanning the page at a faster pace than she was sure was possible._

_ "Just snap the damn thing and he'll never know. If you don't, I will," Spirit griped, giving her a little shove._

_ "Fine, _fine_. But only because I know you'll embarrass me even more if I don't. I really hate you Spirit."_

_ "You'll thank me someday, Jen."_

_ "I seriously doubt that."_

_ Pulling the camera out one last time she held it up, focusing on Stein for a brief moment before she snapped the picture and stormed back out of the library. Part of her was angry at Spirit, hating him for making her stalk Stein like that. And the other half of her was practically crying tears of joy…she had a picture of Stein._

With a small smile, Jennette trailed her fingers over the picture of Stein. He looked so peaceful buried in his book, oblivious to the world around him. Now he didn't seem so peaceful with his fake smiles and chipper attitude. He was projecting an image of himself that he thought people wanted to see. And while she was deathly afraid to see what he was really like, she felt like seeing that side of him was the only way she could help him…

_ "It is within my professional opinion that you are a complete idiot for falling in love with him again…"_


	5. Not So Irrational Fears

"All right, Evan. You don't mind if we use a recorder today instead of me taking notes?" Jennette asked sitting the small silver device on the table between her and the boy across from her.

"No, I don't mind. You hurt your hand?" he asked, his voice as shy and timid as it had been the first day he stepped into her office.

"It's just a small cut, but it's too sore to write on. I'll transfer the session into notes later."

She waved her hand in the air trying to make it seem like her thumb really wasn't bothering her, but the act of holding a pen was literal torture. Apparently she had sliced it open all the way under her nail and any undue pressure wasn't going to be tolerated. At the very least it hadn't bled much.

"Anyway, go on with what you needed to tell me. The dreams again?" she breathed plastering on her listening smile.

She really was attentive to everything her patients had to say, she just found that staring at them blankly while they talked was counterproductive. Evan fiddled with a button on his shirt refusing to make eye contact with her as he spoke.

"Yeah, I had another dream last night. You know…about Professor Stein," he mumbled glancing all around the room while still trying to decided whether he wanted to leave the button alone or not.

"The same as the last one? Or did it happen differently this time?"

"Well, it started out the same, but it _was_ different. I think, I mean, it was worse…"

"How could it get any worse?"

"He was s-standing at the end of me bed again, he didn't have his glasses on so I couldn't see his eyes at all in the dark. He had a scalpel in his hand, I could see the moonlight from outside glinting off of it. And he grabbed me by my foot and-"

His voice caught in his throat and she could see he was having difficulty swallowing.

"It's all right Evan. Take your time," she said softly, trying to reassure him.

"I've never even seen intestines in real life before, but I _swear_ I watched him pull out my intestines! They were hanging over the end of the bed, blood everywhere. And he just stood there over me with bloody hands laughing like it was the best joke in the world!"

The edge to his voice was nearing hysterical, she could see actual tears welling up in his blue eyes, his chest rising and falling faster and faster as he spoke. If she didn't stop him he was going to start hyperventilating.

"Evan, calm down and take slow breaths," she commanded sitting forward in her chair.

"But that's not the worst part! I woke up today and found _this_!"

He half jumped up out of his chair lifting up his white shirt to reveal a dark black mark running alone his side toward his belly button. At first she gawked at the mark in shock until she saw half of it was smudged off onto the underside of his shirt.

"E-Evan, that's…_dirt_," she stated pointing at his shirt.

"What?" he squeaked.

"It's-it's _dirt_. Lick your finger…"

He stared down at her for a moment in confusion before licking his index finger and smudging the dirt on his side in one swift motion. She couldn't believe her heart _actually_ skipped a beat over a dirt mark!

"Oh…thank…Death! It's not a scar?" he nearly shouted dropping his shirt.

"No Evan, it's _not_ a scar."

"Well, I've been too scared to change because I was afraid I'd find all these scars, but today my mom made me change shirts because I've been wearing this one for three days straight. I never thought about dirt…"

She waved her hand, motioning for him to sit back down, watching him as he sheepishly collapsed back into the leather chair.

"Now I know that these dreams are discouraging, but you have to realize, they're _not_ real. As strange as Professor Stein is, he is an educator. He is here to teach and instruct. He isn't going to sneak into your room at night to harm you."

_ "Who are you trying to convince, yourself or the kid?"_

Evan nodded sharply, apparently the knowledge that his "scar" was just dirt had eased his mind.

"I know that, but he just, I mean what is the point in dissecting animals in his class everyday? What are we going to learn from that?" he asked, bringing up a question she had asked herself often over the past few days.

"I couldn't tell you that, Evan, but I'm certain the Professor has a point for teaching you the things he does. He would never harm a student."

"I want to believe that's true. But lately, with the Kishin and all of that, he's gotten worse. I swear he's talking to himself sometimes…"

"Genius is sometimes mistaken for insanity and vice versa. While the Kishin has no doubt had negative effects on his sanity, he is not going to harm anyone Evan. Professor Stein is far too strong for something like this to beat him."

_ "Definitely trying to convince yourself more than him…"_

Stein was talking to himself out in the open? She would have to make it a point to talk to Lord Death about exactly how the Kishin's madness was effecting Stein and to what extent it could reach. She wasn't sure how far it had progressed, but she knew enough to know she was running out of time.

"What you need to do Evan, is convince yourself that you are not scared of Professor Stein. Trick yourself into thinking that he can't hurt you and see if the dreams stop by themselves," she suggested scooping up her recorder.

"You think that will work?"

"It couldn't hurt to try. And of course I suggest you try keeping a dream journal. Just a small notebook next to your bed to write your dreams down as soon as you wake up while they're still fresh in your mind. It may help you to come to terms with things easier. If you have time to think about the dreams, you may accidentally exaggerate. It may turn out that your dreams aren't really as bad as all that and your imagination is just running away with you."

"Yeah, that's possible."

"And as always, I look forward to seeing you any time you feel like you need to talk to me. My door is always open."

"Thank you for your time, Doctor Reins."

"It's my pleasure."

Escorting Evan out of the room she handed him a pass to get back into his class, wondering how well that would go over when he had to hand it to Stein to get back into his classroom. She was surprised to find Spirit standing right outside of her office door, leaned against the wall as if he were waiting on her.

"I'll see you again soon Evan. Remember to keep that journal," she said sweetly, waving at him as he started off down the hall.

"I will, see you soon Doctor."

She waited until Evan was around the corner before she even turned to regard Spirit, that tight look in his eyes making her feel uneasy. For a moment she had the worst image of him telling her something terrible about Stein, but she shook it off, smiling over at him as if nothing was wrong.

"What brings you down to my office, Spirit?" she asked.

"Just wanted to check up on you. Sid told me that he saw Stein leaving your office yesterday afternoon. Can we assume there's been progress?" he asked, his voice very professional.

"About that…I stepped on my glasses and broke them in the library yesterday while I was following him and he brought me to my office so I wouldn't fall down the stairs."

Spirit nodded lightly, pushing himself up from the wall. For a moment it looked like he was just going to walk away without saying another word.

"Spirit… How much worse has he gotten since the Kishin's reawakening?" she asked quietly causing him to look away from her down at the floor.

"Noticeably…worse? It was terrible Jen, the way he laughed when it first happened. It was like he wasn't even there anymore."

"You were with him?"

"It's a long story I don't want to tell over again. But yeah, I was. And now, well the students are even starting to see it. I don't know how much longer he's going to last Jen, at it's seriously scaring me."

"He's not going to let this beat him Spirit, he's stronger than that. He's the strongest person I know."

She could tell by the look on his face that there was no way he believed her. Hell, she didn't believe herself. It was getting harder and harder to ignore that little voice in her head with it's snide remarks, what she _really_ wanted to say despite herself.

"He's not going to beat it on his own. I hate putting this on you, but I really think you're the only chance we have left to keep him with us. I was the one…I asked Lord Death to contact you."

"Y-you?"

Instantly she felt anger wash over her. Shock and _pure_ anger. Spirit had asked Lord Death to contact her _knowing_ that she was trying to stay away from Stein at all costs!

"I can't believe you would do that! You knew how I felt about him! How could you Spirit!" she squealed, trying to keep herself from screaming at him.

_ "Asshole! He's just trying to run you into the ground! He wants to see you suffer!"_

"I'm sorry Jen, but what could I do? You're the only person I knew of that didn't care that he was off in school. You're the only other person that's cared for him. He _needs_ you…"

Instantly she deflated, the bell ringing through the hallways indicating that they were about to be over run with students. They couldn't carry on their conversation in the hallway and she was afraid if they were alone in her office she might end up maiming him for tricking her.

"I have to get to work. This is more serious than I first thought… I'll let you know the moment I get somewhere with him, Spirit," she groaned.

"Thank you. I'll help in anyway I can, just let me know."

Waving her hand she shooed him away from her just as students started to flood the halls. For a long time she just wandered the halls, watching all of the students flowing past, envying how simple their lives were. She longed for the days when she was younger, when all she had to worry about was making a grade and collecting Kishin souls. When her closest friend had been her Weapon. She and Vincent were inseparable…unless Stein was in the middle.

_ "I don't understand how you two manage the things you do. Vincent and I try but we seem to keep taking steps back," she whined, trudging along behind Stein._

_ It was one of the rare occasions when Spirit and Stein weren't together and she could talk freely to him without worrying if Spirit was going to embarrass her somehow. Stein never really answered her, but he didn't shrug her off either. She was happy just following behind him, chasing his shadow like she knew she always would. He was so much stronger than she was, so much smarter._

_ "It just takes practice, Jennette. You can do it."_

_ She screeched to a halt in the middle of the hallway, several students bumping into her back before they cursed her and moved around them. Stein stopped a few feet ahead of her, glancing back at her with his eyebrows raised as if he didn't understand what she was doing. For a moment she just stared at him with wide eyes until she realized she was blushing brightly. She'd never heard him say her name before and certainly never heard him encourage her._

_ "Jennette?" he said again, taking a small step back toward her as if she was somehow hurt._

_ All she could manage to do was cover her cheeks with her hands, turning to run away in the opposite direction as fast as her legs would carry her._

"Doctor? Doctor Reins?"

Her feet stopped without her and for a moment she was honestly lost as to where she was. Glancing up and down the hall before her eyes fell on Stein who was towering over her with a cigarette in his mouth. He was _smoking_ in school?

"P-Professor…I'm sorry, I was lost in my train of thought," she stuttered taking a step back from him.

"Yes, I could see that. You should be more careful with things like that. Stairs can be dangerous."

"I don't think I would go as far as to fall down the stairs."

"Maybe not. I have something to ask you, Doctor."

"What is it?"

"I know this it might be a little unorthodox, but I need to ask you for help with something."

Her heart stopped. There was not a beat to be heard, no breath, just the sound of his words echoing in her ears. Stein, needed help. Her help. Stein needed her! She tried to respond immediately without hesitation, but the shock almost sent her reeling.

"Yes? Anything, I'll help in any way I can Professor!" she gasped, her heart starting back up at a gallop.

"Can I meet you in your office?"

"Of course, the door is _always_ open."

"I'll see you there in say, ten minutes?"

She nodded deftly, turning away from him slowly. There she was worrying about how she was going to get close enough to him to help and he simply walked right up to her and asked her for help! Time and time again he managed to amaze her with how strong he was. He wasn't even ashamed to ask for help. There was no way to hide the extreme joy she felt as she rushed back to her office to prepare for his arrival. She had to sit out a fresh tape recorder, pull his file, grab a notepad. Should she prepare tea? No, he wasn't the tea type, he'd always preferred coffee… Absently she found herself checking her reflection in the window of her office. Her shirt was still freshly ironed, her hair pulled up into the perfect little bun without a stray hair in sight. It wasn't that her image was really important in the shadow of his delicate sanity, she just wanted to look as professional as possible. A soft knock on the door caused her to wheel around, straightening her skirt one last time before she took a deep breath.

"Come in, the door is open," she called sliding around the edge of her desk to greet him warmly.

The door cracked open, Stein sliding into the room now without his cigarette. For a moment he just stood there with the door cracked open behind him, glancing around the room as if he'd never been in it before.

"Welcome, Professor. What can I help you with. Or attempt to that is?" she asked cheerfully, completely ecstatic.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot. Crona? Could you come in here please?" he asked, turning back to the door.

For a moment she was confused on what was happening as he reached outside the room, dragging in a short student with pink hair and dark eyes that shifted everywhere except to her.

"Doctor Reins, this is Crona. I believe there is a lot that you can offer Crona. Have fun," Stein said with a smile shoving Crona in her direction before he dove back out of the office.

"Um, h-hello, Doctor. You're not going to prick me with anything are you, because I don't think that I can handle that…" the child muttered glancing up at her for a brief moment.

"No, Crona. I'm not that kind of Doctor. Why don't you have a seat and we can begin. In this room, all we do is talk, all right?" she wheezed indicating to the seats in front of her.

It was too good to be true. She had been so naive to think that Stein would ever openly ask for _her_ help! The sense of uselessness was almost overwhelming, but she had to remember she had another job to do. This student needed her help too and whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to give the session her undivided attention. With a heavy sigh she sat down at her desk, scooping Stein's file back into her drawer and sat out her tape recorder to record the new session.

"So tell me Crona, what is it that's been bothering you. Anything at all…"


	6. Don't you have hope, Professor?

There wasn't a word that she knew that could describe the events that had just happened. She watched silently as Crona stood up from the chair he was seated in and moved toward the door.

"Thank you Doctor, I guess I will see you tomorrow?" he asked looking back at her with worried eyes.

"Of course, Crona. Tomorrow…" she mumbled.

Once he was gone all she could manage to do was reach over to the recorder on her desk, switching it off. She didn't understand how he could even be walking around…

"Doctor Reins? Are you all right?" Stein called poking his head back into her office. Had he been waiting outside for her to finish that entire time?

"Professor…how does that child even have the will to live?" she asked, not even bothering to look up at him.

"It does seem rather hopeless doesn't it? I take it that things didn't go well?"

Jennette sat cradling the tape recorder against her chest staring down at a crumpled sheet of paper that Crona had handed to her. A poem, apparently, that Maka had encouraged him to write. A poem that made her wish that she had never been born…

"Did you read this poem?" she asked quietly.

"Ah, yes, the poem. I've read it."

Finally she looked up at him, his small smile breaking her train of thought from Crona to his illness. She wasn't going to let him get away anymore, today there would be progress.

"And? What did you think of it?" she asked shaking off her depression as she tucked away the tape recorder.

Stein simply shrugged pulling a cigarette from his coat pocket. She wasn't surprised that it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Crona definitely had issues that were going to be difficult to work out, but she feared that Stein was far worse.

"Have you had lunch today, Professor?" she asked, forcing bravery into her voice.

"Lunch? I don't believe I have. I was sidetracked by the test my class is taking."

She stood up from her desk slowly, gathering her lunch bag from the small refrigerator that she had brought in. Even if he declined she wasn't giving him a choice.

"Then you can come have lunch with me. I think that you owe me that much after subjecting me to that without any warning," she demanded rounding her desk, gesturing for him to get the door.

For a moment he just stood there staring down at her before he smiled even more, turning back toward the door.

"I suppose that's fair enough," he chuckled pulling the door open allowing her to step out into the hallway first.

She had expected more resistance from him. For him to make excuses as to why he couldn't have lunch with her. Classes were already dismissed, they were technically late for lunch and even though she really wasn't that hungry, it was an excuse to talk to him. As they walked down the hallway he retrieved his lighter, flicking it open to light his cigarette.

"They allow you to smoke inside the Academy?" she muttered, small talk was better than silence.

"I suppose they do. Spirit isn't a fan of it, might corrupt his precious daughter."

She just stared up at him refusing to acknowledge that she knew who Spirit was. She still wasn't sure if he remembered who she was yet. It wasn't that she thought he was forgetful, she just hadn't been that memorable.

"Death-Scythe?" Stein added peering down at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Ah, yes, Death-Scythe. Well I could see where he wouldn't want you to smoke around the students. It really is a bad example you know."

"I think smoking is the least of their problems right now."

"You're referring to the Kishin?"

"Among other things…"

He grew silent and she knew that he was thinking about himself. He was worried, he didn't need to talk to her for her to see that much. But try as she may, she couldn't seem to find the words to ask him to let her help him. She knew that if she had just flat out offered him counseling that he would just laugh at her. His issues were far too extensive and telling him things that he already knew weren't going to help him overcome the madness.

"Here?" Stein asked, pulling her attention away from her thoughts to the spot he had stopped at.

It was just a bench on the school grounds, overlooking the city, a place she had passed by several times when she was younger. She could practically see herself running past, books clutched against her chest as she tried to make it to class on time.

"Sure, this is fine," she said with a smile, sinking onto the bench with more than enough room for him.

As Stein settled in on the other end of the bench, careful to keep a fair distance between them she pulled out the sandwich she had made for herself and offered him half.

"You know," he sighed taking the half from her, examining it for a moment. "The last Doctor we had come into the Academy was a Witch."

"I can assure you, I'm not a Witch. There's nothing in that sandwich other than turkey, bacon and lettuce. Sorry to disappoint you, it's just a boring club sandwich."

He laughed lightly, sitting his cigarette on the arm of the bench to eat. For a moment they sat in silence like that, munching quietly and it made her feel anxious. Glancing up behind them at the Academy looming over them, she spotted Spirit on one of the balconies above them waving at her frantically. It took her a moment of careful chewing to not choke on the bite she had just taken, wondering if Stein realized that he was there too.

"It's so quite around here, you'd never know anything was wrong," she coughed, clearing her throat.

"The illusion of peace…" Stein sighed.

"Illusion or not, it's beautiful. Even without the Kishin the world is never really at peace, but small moment like these allow us to have hope. Don't you agree?"

"Hope?"

He glanced over at her, frowning. She waited patiently to see if he had anything else to say, but there was nothing, his eyes completely unreadable.

"Don't you have hope, Professor?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"Of course I do."

It didn't sound very convincing, but there was no way she could tell him that. He stood up slowly, finished his half of her sandwich before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his stitched lab coat.

"I have to get back to grading papers. Take things slowly with Crona so that you don't end up burning yourself out," he sighed starting off down the path back toward the Academy.

"Stein! Wait!" she called out, panicking. She didn't want to lose him again so soon.

He stopped abruptly, turning to look at her with wide eyes. She hadn't meant to call him by such a familiar name, it probably gave her away, but she didn't care. Reaching into her lunch bag she tossed a can in his direction. He caught it with barley any effort just as she had expected him to.

"Coffee. Don't burn yourself out either. You look tired…" she said quietly, nodding at him.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm perfectly fine."

"Spirit, there you are…" Jennette wheezed jogging down the hall to catch him before he vanished again.

She had spent all morning trying to track him down, she wasn't sure if it was just her terrible luck, but it had been three days since her lunch with Stein and she hadn't been able to find him at the Academy since. In a last ditch effort she had tracked down Spirit to see if he was possibly sent on a mission.

"Jennette, why are you out of breath?" Spirit asked reaching out his hand toward her to offer support.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Did Lord Death send Stein on a mission, I haven't seen him around the Academy lately."

"A mission? No, Lord Death doesn't believe Stein is stable enough for a mission right now. And since we don't know where the Kishin actually is, no one is sent out alone."

"It's been three days since I last saw him, Spirit. Tell me I've just been missing him. Or that he's avoiding me…"

Spirit pulled his hand back away from her since she refused to take his help, rubbing the back of his neck roughly.

"No, you haven't been missing him. He hasn't been to school in three days and he hasn't contacted anyone. Lord Death is sending me over to his lab after school is over to see what's up. There's no telling what's happened."

He turned away from her, leaving her in complete shock. Stein was missing and no one knew where he was? Shouldn't they have gone to check on him the moment he didn't show up for class? She really did assume that he was avoiding her after their lunch break together. Assuming that she made him uncomfortable…but he was just _missing_. A tremor of panic ran through her making it nearly impossible to make it back to her office without using the wall as a crutch. Waiting for her outside of her office was Crona, hugging himself, watching the other students walk past as if he were about to have an anxiety attack.

"Crona, I'm sorry, I had an errand to run," she stammered trying to right herself.

""It's all right Doctor, I figured you just didn't want to talk to me," he sighed looking up at her for a split second before he settled his eyes back on the floor again.

"No, no! That's not it at all. It's just there's something very important that I need to take care of. Would you be very upset with me if I asked you come tomorrow instead?"

Crona's eyes shifted back to her, still frowning as he seemed to always do. They had met every day since Stein first brought the boy into her office. Admittedly she was just as confused as the first day, but she had come to understand that his issues stemmed from his mother who had incidentally been the Witch that infiltrated the Academy. That and his weapon partner Ragnarok that was apparently some kind of symbiotic being that could not be removed from the child's body.

"So you want to see me tomorrow, Doctor?" Crona asked, needing constant reassurance every step of the way.

"Yes, I really do Crona. I would love to go ahead and have a session with you right now, but this job is something I cannot ignore. Besides it's lunch time isn't it? You should go and find Maka and have your lunch then get back to class. If I'm back before the end of the school day I'll come find you, all right?"

"Ok, I guess I can do that."

"Thank you Crona. I'm sorry I made you wait like this."

"It's all right. I didn't have anything else to do anyway. I'll see you tomorrow Doctor."

"Tomorrow, no interruptions I promise."

She felt guilty for canceling their session, but Stein was far more important to her. She dove into her office changing out of her heels into a pair of flats just for easier traveling. Glancing at his file she memorized where his lab was located on the outskirts of the city. If he wasn't going to come to her, she was going to go to him. No more waiting, no more stalking. Stein could very well kill her if he wasn't in control of himself, but it was a chance she was willing to take.

"Hey, Sid! Have you seen Jennette around?" Spirit called halting the blue man halfway down the hallway from him as he jogged to catch up to him.

"Death-Scythe, no I don't think I've seen her since before lunch why?"

Spirit stopped next to the zombie, taking a small moment to catch his breath before he started to explain himself.

"I was just about to leave and I wanted to let her know where I was going, but I can't find her anywhere. Thought maybe you had seen her around. Crona said that she cancelled their appointment today," sigh sighed, running his fingers through his red locks.

"Yeah now that you mention it she was suppose to see a student from my class this evening too and he said she wasn't in her office when he went down to see her. Where do you think she could have gone? If she was sick she would have visited Naigus in the infirmary first."

"I don't know, I saw her just before lunch and she-"

Spirit's voice trailed off as the horrifying reality finally dawned on him. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner!

"Death-Scythe?" Sid asked nudging his shoulder.

"I'm an idiot! She was concerned about Stein and I told her that he hasn't been in contact with anyone for three days now. I was suppose to go check his lab after school…"

"You don't think-she wouldn't possibly go there on her own would she? That would be suicide!"

"of course she would! When it comes to Stein, all her rational thought goes out the damn window! Tell Lord Death about this, I have to get over there as soon as possible before he dissects her."


	7. I Remember Everything

At first glance, his lab was…interesting. That was the word she wanted to use, but it was just plain creeping her out. Everything she could see had stitches on it, arrows here and there directing what, she wasn't exactly sure. Stein had always had a fondness for stitches and apparently he was really running with the concept.

_ "I can't believe you came all the way out here to this secluded laboratory at dusk to rescue a mad man who may or may not want your help! You're going to die!"_

Shaking off her doubt she stepped forward toward the lowest window she could find on the side of the gray building. She wasn't surprised to find it unlocked. There wasn't much that could scare Stein and she would feel sorry for anyone trying to break into his home to steal something or cause him harm. She felt sorry for herself. But there she was pushing the window up like some kind of common criminal, pulling herself over the ledge carefully. It had crossed her mind to go home and change before she attempted this suicide mission, but she didn't think she had the time to waste. Her skirt was making it difficult to get her legs over properly and it almost landed her on her face in the junk room she had apparently crawled into. There were boxes of what looked like papers and computer equipment along with a shiny metal table that made her stomach roll. As far as she could tell all of the lights were off in the building, if he was home he was most likely asleep.

_ "You _pray_ that he's just asleep…"_

It took her a moment to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness before she moved. She didn't want to go around knocking things over and announcing her presence any more than necessary. It was hard to ignore all of the medical instruments laying around in what looked like pristine condition given the fact that the room looked like it had never been used. The fact that he kept all the medical instruments clean and perfect caused her heart to pound even louder than it already was when she had nearly smashed her face coming in through the window. She was afraid that he could somehow hear her heart and know she was somewhere she shouldn't be. Pulling the door to the room open slowly she was mortified to hear the metal groan in protest. She gave a small squeak, clapping her hand over her mouth to stop the sound before it carried down the hallway. The door was open just barely enough for her to squeeze through. Waiting to see if he was coming to investigate the noise she calmed her breathing and prepared to slide through the opening. One of the buttons on her shirt caught on the screws of the handle on the door ripping it clean off as she nearly spilled into the hallway. She stood there shaking from head to toe, still trying to listen for any signs that Stein was coming for her. There had been a time in her life when she was scared of nothing. She and Vincent had done their fair share of missions collecting Kishin souls. Even though she didn't turn him into a Death-Scythe she was still formidable at one point. She shouldn't have been _this_ scared. She was thankful she had skipped lunch, the way her stomach was knotting up she was sure if she had anything in it she would have been sick. This wasn't like her at all…

_ "We have a mission."_

_ She nearly jumped out of her skin, pulled away from her favorite past time of gawking at Stein when he wasn't paying attention._

_ "Stop doing that," she hissed._

_ Vincent towered behind her, a giant compared to all of the other students and by far unique with his long raven hair and violet eyes. He glanced over in the direction she had been so interested in before he interrupted her, Stein and his Weapon partner Spirit scanning the mission board._

_ "You should just talk to him if you're that interested."_

_ "We have a mission?" Jen coughed clearing her throat as she tried to compose herself._

_ "Yeah…"_

_ She knew that he didn't particularly care for the way that she was avoiding the issue of her attraction to Stein, but he just shrugged it off and went on explaining the mission. It was already nearing dusk by the time they arrived, Vincent immediately shifting into his weapon form before they could be ambushed._

"Watch yourself, I sense unrest," _he demanded from the blade of the sword she held closely._

_ Checking the streets carefully she searched for their targets, turning down alleyway after alleyway._

_ "Where are they?" she muttered more to herself than him, even though she knew he was listening._

"Behind us!"

_ Within a split second she turned on her heel bringing the sword up to block the overhead strike aimed at her. With a sharp turn of the blade she managed to force her assailants weapon to the ground before she spun around to parry the second attack aimed at her back._

"Above us, we'll have more room than down here in this cramped alleyway!" _Vincent commanded._

_ Turning she shoved the first man to the ground, using the flat edge of her sword to force the second man into the brick wall leaving her free to bound up the wall onto the open rooftop. She could still hear them, but couldn't see them, finding herself spinning in circles trying to find them._

"Relax. We need to calm ourselves and we'll find them," _Vincent breathed, reminding her that she needed to stay focused._

_ The first shift in the air was aimed at her back and she spun around swinging forcefully trying to kill her attacker. The second blow was aimed at her side, sending her sprawling over the gravel of the rooftop. It took her no more than a second to climb back onto her feet, forcing herself to stay clam and focus. The metal pipe the first man had used to trying at hit her with was easily parried, the recoil tossing the pipe from the man's hand__across the gravel giving her an opening shot. She knelt down bringing the sword up vertically slicing through the man with relative ease before she pivoted on her left foot, catching the other assailant in his abdomen. The bodies dissolved into the night air leaving behind the glowing red Kishin egg souls they were sent to capture. Vincent reverted to his human form, devouring the souls, taking note of how winded his Meister was._

_ "We did good, both of us."_

She _was_ a good Meister. A good Meister and a good Doctor. She was here to take care of Stein and she wasn't going to let her fear get in the way of that. There was a dim glow coming from the end of the hall, like a TV or a computer screen, she decided it was the best place to start. Sliding down the hall along the wall she made sure to keep her breathing calm and even, her footsteps so light she couldn't hear the slightest scuff. Peering around the corner slowly she found the source of the light was indeed a computer screen. It hardly illuminated the large empty room, the only things in it were a couple of cabinets and a table on the opposite side of the room covered in lab beakers and burners. Slowly she shuffled across the room taking note that she was in the main room of the lab, double metal doors leading outside to her left, she could see the small shred of light from the setting sun shining through the cracks.

"Where are you, Stein?" she whispered approaching the desk his computer sat on quietly.

There was a screw spinning around the screen and she didn't even think to try and hack into his computer. She wasn't that great with them to begin with. The one thing that did catch her attention was the overflowing trashcan beside his desk, balls of paper spilling out over the floor. She knelt down scooping up a few of the discarded papers flattening it out over the desk. It looked at first glance like normal school lesson notes. Something about Soul Resonance and then out of no where the notes changed, shifting into scribbles of what looked like eyes and little spiders scratched into the paper until it ripped. All of the papers were the same notes, ending with these random scribbles. It was like he was trying to focus on school work and something else was eating away at him at random points during the process. Was this the Kishin's madness plaguing him?

_ "What is that noise?"_

In the instant she realized there was something else in the room with her she spun around facing the dark corner nearest her where the strange clicking noise was coming from, her eyes needing to adjust again from the light of the computer screen that she'd been using to see his notes. The first thing she saw was a pale hand reaching out for her too quickly for her to react. The cold hand closed over her mouth pushing her with more force than she was sure any person should have up against the far wall past Stein's desk. She tried to scream but the hand was blocking her voice from escaping and all she could managed was a high pitched squeak. Clamping her eyes shut as she prepared for pain, or at the worst, death. Something in her brain rebelled and she fought against her attacker, kicking against them as she tried to free herself. But they were _strong_, solid as steel as her feet peddled in the air. They were holding her up off the floor by her _face_? Her hands lashed out, eyes still closed afraid to see the eyes of the person attacking her, clawing at the arm holding her still and the fabric covering it. When her attempt to scratch skin to cause pain failed she tried to reach farther, brushing hair this time and something metallic? It didn't matter to her, all that mattered was survival. She latched onto the silky locks tugging as hard as she could, she was not going to die without a fight.

"Jennette?"

Hearing his voice so close her eyes snapped open, her fingers still locked in his hair. She was face to face with him, he didn't have his glasses on and she could tell he was having trouble focusing on her in the darkness. Not to mention he didn't seem like he was all there in the first place. His grip on her loosened and she could feel herself slipping down the wall onto her own feet. Fear had locked her joints and she couldn't force herself to let go of his hair. He just stood over her, his head tilted down where she was pulling on him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice low and clam.

"I-I came to-you haven't been to school. People were worried," she stuttered, demanding herself _not_ to cry.

"And they sent you?"

"N-no. I came on my own. I wanted to be sure you were-still here."

"Of course you would," he chuckled, reaching up to loosen her fingers in his hair.

His touch was more gentle this time, easily able to pry her fingers away from his hair so that he could stand up properly. Through all of the struggling her shirt had come loose from her skirt, the place where her button had been torn off showing off her belly button. She stood there under him, her body shaking so much she was sure he could feel it too. All she could think about was that she had a chance to use her soul wavelength on him and her fear had taken over and rendered her completely useless. She had missed the best chance she would probably ever get.

"I'm sorry I scarred you, Jennette. You can calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. I am in control…" he mumbled stepping back from her, digging something out of his coat pocket.

The second he stepped away from her she sank to the cold floor, her hands hitting the ground with an audible slap. The room was so quiet the sound of air ripping through her lungs in huge gasps nearly echoed. As much as she tried to stop it she was starting to hyperventilate. She really thought she was going to die. Stein's knees came into view as he knelt down before her, his hands resting on her small shoulders.

"Slow breaths, calm down. What did you expect was going to happen after sneaking into someone's home? You should have knocked on the front door," he sighed, her eyes flickering up to see he had put his glasses back on.

"I didn't think you were here…" she sobbed.

"You're a Meister, Jennette. Why didn't you just use your Soul Perception? I know that you can."

That last statement struck a nerve in her brain. He knew that she was a Meister? He was calling her by hername, not Doctor. He was calling her _Jennette_. Her eyes locked onto his, the dim light in the room just enough for her to see him clearly.

"You know that I'm a Meister?" she asked.

"Of course I do."

"Since when did you-"

"The day you first walked into my classroom. Honestly, did you think that I'd forgotten you? Now stand up and I'll make us some coffee."

He helped her up onto her feet before he turned away from her, crossing the room to flick on the lights. It wasn't a dramatic change, but it was enough to cause her to have to squint until her eyes adjusted to the influx. He went about making coffee on one of the chemistry burners as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Pouring the steaming liquid into two beakers, he held one out to her. For a moment she just starred up at him in confusion before she forced herself to take the beaker, holding it close to her body for that warmth. Something about his lab was cold and after being on the floor the hot coffee helped whisk away some of the chill.

"You really remember who I am?" she whispered watching him closely as he settled onto the stitched up computer chair in front of his desk.

"Is it really that hard to believe? I remember everything about you, Sword Meister Jennette Reins…" he laughed lightly, smiling over at her in a frightening way.

He had known all along who she was. He had known and he let her believe that he had no clue. She'd made a fool of herself for nothing. She'd danced around the important subjects, wasting his precious time. And yet as annoyed as she should have been, she was somehow flattered. Franken Stein, the smartest, strongest Meister ever to graduate the Academy remembered who _she_ was.


End file.
